Sliding target game



May 20, 1952 J. o. PRENITISS 2,597,671

SLIDING TARGET GAME Filed Jan. 19, 1950 FIG. I.

I I INVENTOR JOHN O. PRENTISS ia'tented May 20, I 952 UNIT STA PAT OFF- SEIDING" TARGET GAME Joim O. Prentiss, SanBenito}, Tex.

applieatiormanqaryle, 1950; Serial P20213935? s Ciaiinsi- (o1. 273*408):

The present invent-ion relatesto atoy orgame for eitherchil'd'ren or adults" wherein a target or objective-is moved through a predetermined path; and aprojectileor" missile also moving in a -predetermined path is' directed"toward the path of movement of' thetar'getim an endeavor to strike the target before the target" moves beyond therange of themi'ssile.

Broadly, the invention compris'es' a pair of" supports disposed and maintalned at right angles to each other, each support being provided with a guide wire extending substantially the: entire length of the support with oneoftheguidewvires- A: target is slidably mounted on one of" the. wires 7 ports are mounted ona-- suitable pivot wh'ereby tilting movement of the supports will permit-the target to slide alongthe" guidewire toward the:

lowered end, whereupon the-"missi1e-i's-- directed-- along its guide" wire: in: an: endeavor tohit or strike the target before-it passes the iuncturezot the-guide-"wires.

An object of the present invention is to provide an entertaining: toy or game wherein a tethered missile is directed toward the path of movement of atethered.- target in an eiiort to strike the target before the target passeswithout the zone of contact of the missile.

Yet another object of my invention is to provide a toy or game of the character described wherein one or two personsmay operate or'play' the game sir'nultaneouslm And stilll-a further object of my invention-- is to provide a toy or game which simulates somewhat the shooting of a bird on the fly, which is simple instructural detail, positive and efficient in operation and which may be easily and inexpensively manufactured.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention consists in the details of construction, and in the arrangement and combination of parts to be hereinafter more fully set forth and claimed.

In describing the invention in detail, reference will be had to the accompanying drawings forming part of this application, wherein like characters denote corresponding parts in the several views, and in which:

Figure l is a View in side elevation of the toy or game.

Figure 2 is a plan view of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is afrag-mental view" in side eIeV a' tio'n showing one of'tl'ie:resiiientprojectors; and-- Figure 4 is a view generallWsi'milar-to 3 showing a modification wherein spring-means is employed to maintain the guide w ire undertension'.

Referring to th'e drawings; it will be noted that there i's=- provideda base- ID iani'apted to be dis-- posed upon a suitablesupporting surface:such as a table top, and a pair'oi ar n'c'l'sfi I l" and I2 disposed at right angles to each -othen' the arrnsfi H and I 2 being piv'citallt mounted to theba'se; as" indicated at F35- The pivotali' connectioni l '3i includes a post 14 on the baselb the-redueediend of; the post being lodged in:a recess or" sockets l'5 formed in th'e lower f-ace of-th'e arm H Mani-+- festly; the-arms I I: and I2? may haveirotational movement as welllasirockings movement: relative to thebasel 02" v V A poston peg It i's" attached-to the: arm; I 1 ad jacent each end thereof and a guide wire'li'li' extends between the posts; the ends of the wire being suitably secured to the posts;.. as: indicated: at I8; A missilesuchnas a smallasbalkorrmarble I9 is provided? with abore 211' extending. there through in: order: that the: missile may: be slide ably carried by the wire. A. resilient. projector 2| is attached to the upper; face or the-warm Hz; a 'shortl'distance'forward for: each" peg [6* by means of screws 22 which extend through i apertures-inflange 23 or thezprojector 2i 'Ihe' upper-or free end of the projector is arcuate, as? indicated-at- 24, and slotted,.- asshownat: 25a to permit the wire I"! to extend therethrough. Mani-festlyybv moving-. the projector rearwardly: (Figured): and

by releasing the projector, the ball I9 will be driverra-longthe wire I The: arm: 2 also: includes the samestructural elements, and for the purpose of simplicity; the same reference characters. will be appliedwith" the exception: that they, are 'primed,althoughit can be seen that the pegs l6 are somewhat greater in length than the pegs IE to provide the necessary clearance at the cross-over point of the wires l1 and II.

To play the game and assuming the target I9 is in the position shown in Figures 1 and 2, the arm 12 is moved downwardly to elevate the opposite end, whereupon the marble l9 will slide along the wire l1 toward the lowered end of the arm. At the same time, the party manipulating the projectile 2| will release the projector in an effort to strike the marble 19' with the missile l9 before the target passes the cross-over point of the wires l1 and I1. Manifestly, if

' 3 the target is not hit, the shooter has scored a miss. By rocking or tilting the arm II in the opposite direction, the game is now ready for further playing.

It can be seen, therefore, that I have provided a toy which is not only highly entertaining, but which also requires a certain amount of skill in its successful operation. Furthermore, the simplicity of the game will enable persons, regardless of age, to be entertained thereby and no involved rules are required for its playing.

In Figure 4 I have shown a slightly modified construction wherein means are provided for maintaining the wires I1 and, I1 in a taut condition. To achieve this end, each of the pegs end of the spring is anchored to the end of the arm I I by a nail or the like 33. Obviously, these springs 3| will tend to keep the wire in a stretched or tightened position.

If desired, the resilient projector 2| may be provided for each end of the arm 12, thereby permitting the marble l9 slidable on the wire ll to serve as the missile, and while the marble l9 will be the target. Manifestly, this arrangement will give greater flexibility to the toy and, if desired, two or more marbles may be disposed on the respective guide wires. This latter arrangement would enable two persons to endeavor to strike the target at the same time or substantially the same time.

The invention is not to be confined to any strict conformity with the showing in the drawing, but may be changed or modified so long as such changes or modifications mark no material departure from the salient features of the invention as expressed in the appended claims.

I claim:

- l. A toy or game comprising a base, a pair of crossed arms supported by the base, a guide wire secured to and extending longitudinally of each arm in parallel relationship to the arm, a missile slidably mounted on one wire, a target slidably mounted on the other wire, one of said wires being supported a slight distance above the other of said wires, and a projector on the arm supporting the wire having the missile for directing the missile toward the opposite end of the guide wire to strike the target on the other wire before the target passes the cross-over point of the wires when the arms are tilted to allow the target to slide from one end of the wire to the other end thereof.

2. A toy or game comprising a base, a pair of crossed arms pivotally mounted on the base, a peg attached to each arm adjacent the ends of the arm, a guide wire secured to said pegs in proximity to the upper ends of the pegs and extending in parallel relationship to the arm, the pegs of one arm being of greater length than the pegs of the other so that the wire secured to the pegs of greater length will be disposed a slight distance above the other guide wire, a missile slidably mounted on one guide wire, a target slidably mounted on the other guide wire and a resilient projector secured to one end of the arm supporting the missile guide wire for driving the missile along the wire to strike the target on the other wire before the target passes the cross-over point of the wires when the arms are rocked on the pivot to elevate one end of the arm carrying the target.

3. A toy or game as claimed in claim 2 wherein spring means is operatively connected to each end .of said guide wires and said arms to maintain the wires in a taut condition.

4. A toy or game comprising a pair of crossed guide wires supported at right angles to each other with one of said guide wires disposed a slight distance above the other of the said wires, a missile slidably mounted on one wire, a target slidably mounted on the other wire, and a projector for one of said wires for directing the missile toward the opposite end of the wire to strike the target on the other wire before the target passes the cross-over point of the wires when the wires are tilted to allow the target to .slide from one end of the wire to the other end thereof.

5. A game device comprising a pair of crossed arms adapted to be supported at right angles to each other, a guide wire secured to and extending longitudinally of each arm in spaced parallel relation to the arm with one of said guide wires located a slight distance above the other of said wires, a missile slidably mounted on one wire, a target slidably mounted on the other wire, and projector means cooperating with the wire having the missile thereon to direct the missile along its wire toward the opposite end of the wire to strike the target on the other wire before said target passes the crossover point of the wires when the arms are tilted to allow the target to slide from one end of the wire to the other end thereof.

JOHN O. PRENTISS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,682,645 Vollmer Aug. 28, 1928 2,349,040 Grant May 16, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 745,530 France Nov. 12, 1932 

